Hortense, Ruth, and Marjorie are sisters that dream - like most girls do - of being princesses with castles and gowns and furs to their name. Unlike most girls, however, they have a family fortune: millions left to them by a mysterious uncle who did well in the diamond trade, a man that their parents call 'The Black Sheep.' The only issue is that they cannot access the money until they can provide documentation to the bank that proves relation. Their parents treat this story as an anecdote for parties and do not take it seriously - but the girls are determined. When their mother falls ill, they only visit her to ask when they can travel to England and claim their fortune. The nurse ushers them out. In a year's time, their mother is dead, and their father is too busy working to discourage this strange obsession. Then one day, the girls hear that the Prince of Wales is coming to visit. They nurture the childish belief that he has their fortune with him, and all they have to do is speak to him about it. Dressed up in their fanciest clothes, they spend the whole day sitting by the porch waiting for the prince to come, but he never does. Their father comes home and is surprised by three crying girls who want a fortune they can never have. He explains to them that this man, who might not even be related to them, died without definite descendants and that there are hundreds of possible heirs claiming the fortune. Disillusioned, the girls are forced to cast away their now-impossible dream, and as they grow up, they begin to treat the story just as casually as their parents used to do.